1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk insertion apparatus for inserting a disk into a rim element of a disk wheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle wheels are conventionally manufactured on a wheel manufacture line by the following series of steps: First, a long plate of predetermined width is cut to a specified length and rolled to form a tube. The end portions of the rolled plate are then butt welded together to form a one piece cylindrical element. The cylindrical element is conveyed to a flaring apparatus where both end portions of the cylindrical element are flared by inserting die members into the cylindrical element from either side thereof. The flared element is then conveyed to a rim forming apparatus which typically comprises a plurality of rim forming machines arranged in series where each flared element is press formed to produce a desired rim configuration. The rim element is subsequently conveyed to a disk insertion apparatus where a disk which has been formed on another manufacture line is inserted into the rim element. The formed rim element together with the disk are then conveyed to a welding machine where they are welded together to form a disk wheel. The disk wheel is ultimately painted.
Disks are conventionally inserted into rim elements by the following series of steps: First, a disk is placed in a rim element by hand so that a specific positional relationship exists between a bolt hole formed in the disk and a valve hole formed in the rim element. The disk is then urged into a final, predetermined position by a single press operation of the disk inserting apparatus.
When only a single press operation is employed, however, the operating speed of the apparatus must be slow, because good quality insertion can not be obtained with high speed pressing operations. As a result, the above disk insertion method and apparatus has limited the efficiency of the entire disk wheel manufacture line.